WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Op*press"
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [F. oppresser, LL. oppressare, fr. L. oppressus, p. p. of opprimere; ob (see Ob-) + premere to press. See Press.]
Definition : 1. To impose excessive burdens upon; to overload; hence, to treat with unjust rigor or with cruelty. Wyclif. For thee, oppress?d king, am I cast down. Shak. Behold the kings of the earth; how they oppress Thy chosen ! Milton.

2. To ravish; to violate. [Obs.] Chaucer.

3. To put down; to crush out; to suppress. [Obs.] The mutiny he there hastes to oppress. Shak.

4. To produce a sensation of weight in (some part of the body); as, my lungs are oppressed by the damp air; excess of food oppresses the stomach.

t. [imp. & p. p. Oppressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Oppressing.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913